Before construction of this building in 1902, the Sparta Free Library occupied several homes in the community. The library building was designed by Schick and Roth, an architectural firm from LaCrosse, and steel magnate Andrew Carnegie provided construction funds. The Carnegie Foundation approved Sparta's application for $10,000 when the city agreed to allocate $1,000 annually to the library. The foundation funded 64 libraries in Wisconsin and 1,679 in the United States. This property was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.